GONZALEZ, GRANZOW EARN PLAYERS OF THE YEAR HONORS FOR OEC MEN’S SOCCER

Photo by Phil Thurman
Photo by Phil Thurman

Five members of the conference-champion Fullerton College Hornets, including Offensive Player of the Year Misael Gonzalez, earned top billing for this year's All-Orange Empire Conference Men's Soccer Team, as voted on by the head coaches at the end-of-season meeting.

Gonzalez, who earned Conference MVP honors for the OEC last season, continued his stellar play in 2023. This year's Offensive Player of the Year dominated the conference with an OEC-best 27 goals and 61 points this season. In conference play, Gonzalez racked up a conference-best 17 goals and 51 points. His 27 goals and 61 points were second-most in the state, trailing El Camino College's Marvin Gamez (28 goals, 66 points) for the top spot.

Defensive Player of the Year honors went to Lennart Granzow of Irvine Valley College. Granzow scored five goals and added an assist in 2023, but his stellar play on defense helped the Lasers hold their opponents to one goal or less in 13 of the 19 matches he played in.

Four other Fullerton players – Angel Sevillano, Evan Yoell, Garret Eikermann and Hayden Kenney earned first-team honors, while second-team honors went to teammates Mario Floriano, Jona Ortiz and Cesar Marquez. 

The 2023 Hornets topped the rest of the OEC opponents and finished conference champs with an 11-1-2 OEC record, ahead of IVC (7-1-6), Saddleback (6-4-4), Cypress (6-5-3), Santa Ana (5-4-5), Golden West (5-6-3), Orange Coast (3-10-1) and Santiago Canyon (0-12-2).

OEC Coach of the Year honors went to Fullerton College's Greg Aviles, after guiding his Hornets to the conference title and a 19-3-2 overall record. It's his fourth OEC Coach of the Year selection (2018, 2019, 2022, 2023).

Coach of the Year Greg Aviles, Fullerton    
Offensive Player of the Year Misael Gonzalez*, Fullerton, (So. Forward)  
Defensive Player of the Year Lennart Granzow, Irvine Valley (So. Defender)  
             
First Team All-Conference   Second Team All-Conference
1 Angel Sevillano Fullerton   1 Mario Floriano Fullerton
2 Evan Yoell Fullerton   2 Jona Ortiz Fullerton
3 Garret Eikermann Fullerton   3 Cesar Marquez Fullerton
4 Hayden Kenney Fullerton   4 Gabriel Velasco IVC
5 Grant Miller IVC   5 Jacob Edwards IVC
6 Ivan Lopez IVC   6 Lucas Stark IVC
7 Anthony Ocampo IVC   7 Alex Martinez Saddleback
8 Joel Smith Saddleback   8 Spencer Simis Saddleback
9 Ryan Mann Saddleback   9 David Retzko Cypress
10 Dominic DiFrenna Saddleback   10 Gerardo Serna Cypress
11 Christian Charvoya Cypress   11 Sean Allen Golden West
12 Angel Cristobal Cypress   12 Christopher Sollano Golden West
13 Saul Vasquez Santa Ana   13 Brady Powell Orange Coast
14 Vincent Lopez Santa Ana   14 Steven Garcia Orange Coast
15 Daniel Barragan Golden West   15 Marck Rayo Santa Ana
16 Francisco Vieria Golden West   16 Remy Barazin Santa Ana
17 Grayson Marquez Orange Coast   17 Jorge Garcia Cruz Santiago Canyon
18 Rene Coello Santiago Canyon   18 Nick Asam Santiago Canyon
             
* UNANIMOUS SELECTION          

 

Release by Tony Altobelli, Orange Coast